Pygmalion
by Jean635
Summary: When Seto Kaiba meets Kisara, she is nothing more than a soulless doll. What will he do? And where has her soul gone?


A/N: This is my first fanfic…IN ENGLISH. I seriously don't know whether I can finish this story IN ENGLISH but I just can't get this idea out of my head until I write it down! This story mostly follows the Japanese anime version (I haven't watched dub and I don't intend to) and sometimes follows the manga. This is a blueshipping story in a way that there won't be much romance until the end…I guess. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: When Seto Kaiba meets Kisara, she is nothing more than a soulless doll. What will he do? And where has her soul gone?

Pairings: Blue/mizushipping. Slight hints of awe/pleashipping and trust/logicshipping.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Takahashi-san, NAS, and TX. I own nothing.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

He missed his brother.

Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, including himself. Acknowledging his loneliness was basically showing his weakness and that's the last thing he wanted to do. Instead he drowned all of his unnecessary feelings in the sea of paperwork. Working for sixteen hours per day and seven days a week, he felt himself become more and more like a robot and, unsurprisingly, he didn't think it was a bad thing at all.

Only on every Saturday night when he heard Mokuba's cheerful voice from the phone did he realize that he was still human. Mokuba, his precious Mokuba, already became independent that he didn't need his big brother to watch over him all the time despite the fact that he was only 15 years old. However, every time he said goodbye to Mokuba and reluctantly hung up, there was always a voice whispering in his head, "See how happy Mokuba has been these days? He doesn't need you at all. He is better without you." He would try to concentrate on his work and forget that annoying voice and Mokuba until the next week.

That's how Seto Kaiba's life had been until the day he received a call from Yugi Mutou.

* * *

It was 5:30 in the evening on a normal Friday. Most of the employers of KaibaCorp had already left and planned to enjoy their weekends. Still in his office, Seto was thinking about returning to his mansion and trying to invent something new instead of just staring at boring paperwork before his phone rang.

"Kaiba-kun! Jounouchi-kun told me that -" Seto really didn't have any idea why Yugi sounded so panicked, and frankly he didn't care.

"I have no interest in hearing what that bonkotsu (1) said. Now, Yugi, if you don't have more important things to say -"

"The white haired girl we saw in the Memory World is alive! In the Yonesato General Hospital! (2)"

Seto felt himself stiffen. Suddenly, the memory of that trip to Egypt three years ago started to flash through his mind. The sun, sand, and the white haired girl with beautiful blue eyes. Several seconds passed before he realized how much time he spent on his useless memory. "And why should I care?"

"She is soulless!" Yugi cried out. "And unlike the Orichalos incident, we don't have a clue about who is responsible for stealing her soul!"

"Are you sure that she is soulless and not just in a vegetative state?"

"Well…I haven't seen her yet, but I trust Jounouchi-kun's judgment." Yugi could almost hear Seto's frown at his friendliness. Maybe it's time to explain everything that happened today. "Fifteen minutes ago he and Shizuka-chan called me from the hospital and told me everything they knew. They went to the hospital today because a doctor wanted to check the condition of Shizuka-chan's eyes and make sure there're no late effects. After all the examinations were over, she recalled a girl whom she befriended years ago and decided to visit her before leaving the hospital. The moment Jounouchi-kun saw that girl, he recognized her as the girl we saw in the Memory World and suspected that her illness wasn't merely a coma. They later asked a nurse who has been looking after her about her condition. According to the nurse, she has lived in the hospital for nine years, and has been in a coma for four years – even before all the Orichalos things started. The doctor hasn't found anything wrong in her brain and he has no idea what to do! The only thing he keeps doing for her is giving her different levels of pain stimuli which, according to the nurse, aren't completely legal!"

"I'm going to sue him." Seto muttered. Somehow, the idea of his blue eyed girl being abused was intolerable – wait, was he really thinking that blue eyed girl was _his_?

Yugi was relieved to hear the concern in Seto's tone, though it was almost unnoticeable. "Anyway, I think you may be able to wake her up."

"What? Are you expecting me to act as a Prince Charming and kiss her awake?" Seto tried to sound as sarcastic as possible.

"No, but I have a…theory. When Pegasus stole Mokuba's soul, he was capable of ordering Mokuba's soulless body to duel you. So…if the girl has connection with your Blue Eyes cards, maybe she will consider you as her master and listen to your orders. And if that doesn't work, I'll try to find the person who is responsible for her condition," he knew Seto didn't like this kind of unscientific conjecture, but that's what the CEO must understand. "Now I'm at Domino Station and I plan to take the next train to Yonesato. Jounouchi-kun and Shizuka-chan want to stay at the hospital too, but they have already planned to have dinner with their mom tonight. Would you come with me, please?"

Seto paused a moment to consider this invitation. What Yugi had now was only a hypothetical theory without any proof, just like his other delusions. Though the skeptical CEO had already admitted that magic was real, he still hated it because of its lack of systematization. The Millennium Items might prove that magic was real, but they hadn't given any clues about why and how magic worked. Even Isis agreed with him in this aspect. "But that's all we have now. After 3000 years, most of the knowledge has been deeply buried in the sands of Egypt." That's what she said during their last conversation which happened on the ship after the Ceremonial Battle. And…_no, now is definitely not the bloody time to think about what happened there!_ He mentally groaned. The point was that he was sure Yugi had no idea how to save that girl's soul aside from asking Isis for help, and that annoying woman would fly to Japan just to check if there was anything she could do. The thought of meeting her again made him feel…uneasy.

However, did all of those things about magic and souls really matter? An image – almost like a memory – of watching the girl sleeping peacefully with moonlight streaming onto her face popped into his head. In doing so Seto realized that he didn't really care whether that girl was soulless or not. He just…felt like seeing her as soon as possible. Besides, what Yugi said about how 'she may listen to his orders' did sound very, very appealing.

"Don't take the train, Yugi. I'll have Isono drive us there." with that he hung up without waiting for Yugi to respond.

* * *

"So… how is Mokuba?" As the two sat in the limo, Yugi tried to break the silence.

Seto mentally sighed. _Why does that midget always feel the need to make small talk?_ "Fine, just a little busy since new semester already started."

"Rebecca told me that she worked for KaibaCorp's American branch and bumped into him there a few weeks ago."

"You mean that annoying girl? She and Mokuba are currently dealing with a new project, but he didn't tell me any details. I hope that doesn't involve with producing an heir to KaibaCorp."

Yugi blushed. The thought of a pregnant Rebecca was really awkward. "Are they … dating?"

_Are they dating?_ It struck Seto that he had never seriously thought about his little brother dating someone. Yes, he had warned Mokuba the same thing he had told Yugi, but Mokuba just laughed and said, "Don't worry, nii-sama." Most things Mokuba told him were about KaibaCorp work and school life in America, not relationships. It's because Mokuba really wasn't interested in dating or he didn't want to tell his big brother? Either way, Seto felt slightly guilty about not putting more effort into communicating with Mokuba. However, that voice in his head whispered again, "It's alright, really. You're not the most important part of Mokuba's life. Just get used to it. As you believe, everybody is alone in the end."

"I don't know," Seto said emotionlessly. "And I don't care. Mokuba can date any girl he wants."

Yugi nodded. Seeing the discomfort in Seto's eyes, he decided not to say anything more. He wondered what would happen if he said "You must be lonely without Mokuba." Something told him that Kaiba-kun wouldn't take that very well.

So they just silently sat and waited.

* * *

It took them two hours to get to the hospital. Seto made Isono wait in the limo, then he and Yugi entered the main building.

"So where is she?"

"Well…Remember I said a nurse told Jounouchi-kun about that girl's condition? Shizuka-chan has informed her about me and given me her number." Yugi started to make a phone call. Minutes later, a middle-aged nurse appeared.

"You are Shizuka's friend, Yugi, right?" the nurse smiled warmly towards Yugi. "I'm Tange."

"Nice to meet you, Tange-san." Yugi politely greeted. Then she turned her gaze to Seto. This young man seemed somehow familiar. "And you are…?"

"Kaiba." Seto answered coldly. Suddenly realizing that he was _the_ Seto Kaiba, she nervously nodded in reply and decided to focus on Yugi. "Well, then, follow me. I'll show you where she lives." the three walked over to the elevators.

"So…Tange-san, can you tell us more about her? Actually, we don't even know her name." Yugi asked. He thought Shizuka knew her name, but she had never mentioned it.

"Yes, of course," Tange had no idea why they were so interested in a girl they barely knew, and she decided to ask later when Seto Kaiba wasn't around. "Her name is Shiroko Nakagawa and -"

"Shiroko," Seto interrupted. "This name is more ridiculous than Yugi's! Just because she has white hair doesn't mean she should be called Shiroko." (3)

"I agree." Yugi said, ignoring the fact that Seto just insulted him.

"She grew up in an orphanage," Tange continued. "Whoever worked there obviously didn't do a good job, considering that they didn't even bother to come up with a better name. Kirino-sensei, a hospital teacher, once told me that she used to be bullied because of her unusual hair color."

"I definitely know that feeling." Yugi sighed.

Seto snorted, "You're weak, Yugi. I gave anyone who dared to laugh at Mokuba's long hair a good punch in their face." However, the thought of Mokuba made him feel bitter.

They entered an empty elevator and Tange pushed the eighth floor button. "Nine years ago, when she was 11 years old, she started to fall unconscious occasionally. Those faints usually lasted one or two hours and happened several times every week. A neurologist, Araida-sensei, was very interested in her case and the teachers at the orphanage insisted it was too dangerous for her to live like a normal child, so she started to be hospitalized from then on"

"I bet those so-called teachers just wanted to get rid of her." Seto commented.

"I guess so," Tange sighed. "They never visit, but she didn't mind at all. Actually, she was…quite a strange girl, I think. She liked to be alone and do nothing but read all kinds of books. One day I tried to introduce her to a little group of girls who also lived here, but…their leader said something unfriendly to her and everyone laughed. She didn't get angry, didn't cry, but from that day on she pretended they didn't exist. During one day when a girl snuck into her room and tried to apologize to her, she just coldly said, 'You should know you can't become friends with both your leader and me. I can see you don't want to leave your group, so just get away from me.' I think that's a little harsh. She shouldn't act that way towards a little girl who just wanted to make friends with her, especially while she didn't have any friends."

Yugi could see the obvious disapproval on Seto's face. Before he could say anything rude, Yugi asked hastily, "But Shizuka-chan is her friend, isn't she?"

"Um…maybe…yes. They met when Shiroko was 15, a year before she went into a coma. Shizuka came to have a minor surgery. From what I heard, the surgery wasn't successful and she was very upset. Shiroko saw her by accident and…now I still can't believe what happened. She ran to Shizuka like a lion finding its prey, and spoke in an enthusiastic way which was totally out of character for her. Shizuka did seem happier, but she left the hospital after three days and they haven't been in contact since then. One day Shiroko collapsed. At first we thought it usual and she would wake up in several hours, but…" she was interrupted by a loud "ding". "Oh, we're almost there."

While they stepped out of the elevator, standing in front of them was a doctor wearing huge glasses who seemed to want to kill someone…someone here.

"You!" he growled at Tange. "I heard that you let two people enter her room without my permission!"

"Araida-sensei!" she gasped. "I'm sorry! But Shizuka was her friend and I thought she might wake her up…"

"Yes and that's the problem! I spend nine fucking years trying to find something wrong in her CNS, and you expected her to just wake up and say 'Oh, I overslept a little longer than usual, did I?' You should have known better than that! If she woke up and I wasn't even there to witness it, all my efforts would be for nothing! Nothing! Thank God she didn't. One day I will find a cure for her illness so that I can describe her case in my paper and publish it in some well-known journals…"

"Enough." Seto didn't raise his voice, but that was enough to stop Araida.

"You're Seto Kaiba, aren't you?" His expression suddenly changed from angry to enthusiastic. "I'm Araida, the best neurologist here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"The girl you were talking about earlier. I need to see her now." For some reason, Seto couldn't bring himself to say "Shiroko". There should be something more suitable than a name given by some irresponsible teachers…something more beautiful…like…

"No problem!" Araida started to lead the way. "I'm so glad that a successful businessman like you can see the particularity of her case. If not for the fact that she hasn't moved a finger for four years, I would think she's playing dead. Actually, sometimes I still think she's playing dead! I mean, all the data measured by all kinds of instruments indicated that she's absolutely healthy! At least as healthy as I have even had a psychologist try to talk some sense into her and that didn't work, of course. I'd rather die than lose to a psychologist…"

"He really likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?" said Yugi in a low voice. It's a good thing that this doctor seemed to have never noticed his existence. Seto could easily handle that kind of person by himself.

Tange sighed. "He only sounds happy when he finds potential sponsors who're interested in his project. That reminds me," she said in a curious tone. "Why do you want to visit that girl? You didn't even know her name before I told you."

"Sorry but it's…personal." That's all Yugi could manage to say.

Before she could ask more, Seto already stood in front of the last door of the corridor. Beside the door was a small nameplate which had "Shiroko Nakagawa" on it. Ignoring Araida's rambling, Tange's curious look, and Yugi's anxious expression, he grabbed the doorknob and then stopped for a moment to question himself, "What do you expect from the other side of this door, Seto Kaiba?"

Without coming up with a reasonable answer to that question, Seto opened the door.

* * *

(1) Bonkotsu: underdog. Kaiba sometimes calls Jounouchi "Bonkotsu" after Battle City.

(2) Yonesato General Hospital: I guess that's the name of the hospital where Shizuka had been. I mean I recognize the kanji but I don't know how to pronounce it – Komesato, Beisato, Maisato, or Yonesato? I chose Yonesato because that's a real place in Hokkaido. Why is Japanese so difficult?

(3) According to Japanese Wikipedia, in Japan, people used to call albinos "Shiroko" or "Shirako", but these words are considered discriminatory now. Though "Shiroko" or "Shirako" is one of the top 7000 common surnames in Japan, I guess they aren't common given names but I'm not very sure.

**Thanks for reading this, and special thanks to my beta FanGirl16! Please review!**


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